


We Were There

by LadyKes



Category: Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries
Genre: Gen, Post-Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-03
Updated: 2016-07-03
Packaged: 2018-07-19 17:23:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7370824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyKes/pseuds/LadyKes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jack puts on his Army uniform - and remembers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	We Were There

He had to get this right. It always had to be right, of course, but especially today. Especially on the fifteenth anniversary of the beginning of the Somme campaign. His uniform didn’t fit quite the same way it did fifteen years ago, but it did still fit. He had made sure of that, and a job that involved chasing after suspects certainly helped. As he put on each element, he thought of all the men and boys who would never do this again. The Pommies and Frenchies had borne the brunt of the beginning of the Somme, but the Diggers had died in horrifying numbers too, especially as the weeks and months had gone on.

His tunic was in far better nick than it had ever been in the war, but then he had been able to wash it more than once a month after the war. He’d kept it carefully in a closet all these years, no matter how many times Rosie noted that there probably wasn’t a reason to keep it anymore. He wasn’t ever going back into the Army, or at least he hoped not. He hoped there would be only one Great War. But that wasn’t why he kept his uniform. 

His khaki breeches were held up by braces, which he’d been quite grateful for more than once. Food in the trenches had been horrid and he’d lost more than a few pounds. He’d lived, though.

His puttees fit over the leather boots that had been widely regarded to be some of the best boots any of the armies had had. They’d needed good boots and protective puttees to withstand days and nights in the muck of no-man's-land. Even still, he’d lost more than one pair to the sucking mud.

His insignia had been polished to a glossy shine by Mr. Butler. Jack would normally have done that himself, but once Mr. Butler heard that Jack would be attending the commemoration, he’d insisted. He’d said it would be his honor to prepare Jack’s insignia. 

His hat had been steamed and re-shaped by Mrs. Collins, who’d been just a bit teary when she gave it back. Jack remembered Phryne once telling him that a beloved older brother had never come back from Pozières, and he’d thanked Dot gravely. 

He looked at himself in the mirror one last time, straightened one of his dogs just a bit more, and then stepped away. He closed and locked his door, then placed the hat on his head at the precisely correct angle. That done, he took a breath and began walking to the Shrine of Remembrance site. It’d been under construction for four years now, but it was bidding fair to be a monument they could all be proud of. Jack had given his bit to it, of course, as had everyone he knew, practically.

Mr. Butler, Mr. Johnson, and Mr. Yates were all standing in uniform with Dr. MacMillan, Dot, and Phryne. Hugh was on duty nearby, so Jack just nodded to his Sergeant. He could see from here that Hugh had taken extra care with his dress tunic, or Dot had. 

They were just eight people in a sea of them, but they were there. Against all odds, and in remembrance of those that weren’t, they were there.

**Author's Note:**

> This was somewhat inspired by the #WeAreHere tribute that occurred all across the UK on 1 July 2016. More information on that can be found [here](https://becausewearehere.co.uk/).


End file.
